Stories from Sunday, October 10, 1999

Former Sen. Jack Danforth chose U.S. Attorney Ed Dowd, a Democrat and member of a distinguished St. Louis family of attorneys, as his chief deputy in Danforth's role as special investigator into the Waco debacle of April 1993. We have no special quarrel with the choice, but were more than a little disappointed earlier this year when Dowd used his official letterhead to write law enforcement personnel statewide opposing the right-to-carry initiative on the April ballot...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, -- The Community Counseling Center Foundation is sponsoring a semiannual antique and collectibles show Oct. 17. This will be the first antique show sponsored by the foundation. All proceeds from the event will go to the Community Counselling Center Foundation-and will be go toward networking the computer systems in the out-county offices to the main office. ...

FRUITLAND -- Interchange improvements at I-55 Exit 105 will be continuing through September 1, 2000, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Traffic will be one lane across the bridge as the southbound I-55 traffic will be diverted onto the inside lane of the northbound I-55 across the bridge. Traffic at the northbound bridge will be two-way for a quarter of a mile...

This story starts about 25 years ago in a coal-mining town in central Kentucky. It is a story about a coal mining family, Jason and Donna Cooper and their little son, Josh. It is the first of December and Josh is looking forward to the 25th. Not only will it be Christmas, but also on that day Josh will be 8 years old...

As we head into the 21st Century, our nation is in the midst of rapid social and economic change. Across many parts of rural America, people who once made their living on the land, in the forests and on the water, or in the manufacturing plants are now facing the toughest agricultural market in decades, misguided attempts to shut down responsible multiple use of our public lands, and increased competition abroad. ...

We human beings get great satisfaction from classifying things. We separate everything into neat little boxes with labels on them. We have invented a box called the food chain. In this box we have compartments where we have put everything that takes in food...

(A Grandma's talk with the Lord.) Oh, Lord, help me think beyond the fingerprints on the windows and the door, those little hands belong to the little ones, and I couldn't love them more. My home decorating consists of toys stuck strategically here and there,...

Her eyes looked to the Heavens Her hands folded tight Her lips seemed to quiver In the glow of the light She prayed there in silence By the lighted Christmas tree For the Blessed Baby Jesus Born to die for you and me

Several more new titles have arrived at the main Jackson facility of the Riverside Regional Library. Adult titles include Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav; Make It Merry, and Bill and Hillary, by Christopher Anderson; Tis, by Frank McCourt; Serpent, by Clive Cussler; In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, by Elizabeth Peters; Gravity, by Tess Gerritsen; and Rebellion, by Noral Roberts...

Immaculate Conception School emerged number three among some 40,000 schools that completed the Book-It! reading program. For winning third place in the program's Principals' Sweepstakes, the school received a $2,500 check Oct. 1, as well as pizza coupons...

East Missouri Action Agency, Inc. (EMAA), which normally serves eight counties from its central offices in Park Hills, recently received from the Missouri Department of Health funding allocation totaling over $230,000 to provide services to women from 13 counties during the next year in response to women's health care and contraceptive needs...

The Oak Ridge High School Marching Band was also in step at the band festival. Halfway through the fall marching band season, Jackson High School Band Director Pat Schwent has been pleased with what she has seen from the Marching Chiefs. The Chiefs have three more home football game performances, plus the annual Veterans' Day and Jackson Christmas parades, before breaking down into two concert bands for the winter...

The U. S. Supreme Court has done it again. Two years running now, by refusing to hear appeals, the high court has left in place a pathbreaking, state-level plan expanding parental freedom to choose any school -- public, private or parochial. Opponents of school choice, manning the ramparts for the status quo, sing many constant refrains against this fundamental step toward equity and simple justice. ...

Elected officials from Jackson and Cape Girardeau, staff members from both Cities, Chamber of Commerce officials, Commissioner Max Stovall and members of the media were among the 30 or so who recently attended the first ever Jackson- Cape Girardeau joint facilities tour. ...

One of the most bewildering and, at the same time, one of the most frustrating aspects of our new computerized Age of Technology, with all of its language and gadgetry, is how it can exist and prosper in a world that in so many ways is still connected to the last century...

The laziness and astonishing double standards of the national news media were never more vividly on display than last month at a crucial hearing convened by Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. Front and center to testify under oath at the Sept. 22 hearing were four FBI agents assigned to the campaign-finance investigation and offering riveting testimony. ...

THIS CALL is in response to the person who wrote the letter regarding the hazing incident in Jackson. I think the letter writer is wrong in trying to defend the people who did the hazing. The reason people in Jackson are upset is because the hazers will not will not admit what they did was wrong and will not accept responsibility for their actions...

Kelly School District Board of Education Meeting Oct. 12, 1999 7 p.m. Action Items: - Approve bus routes - Consider roofing bids - Presentation by Joel Evans on the status of school safety - Approve board donation of three days to non-certified sick leave pool...

25 years ago: 1974 Democratic hopeful for clerk of Common Pleas Court at Cape Girardeau, James J. Below, had highest campaign costs of any candidate for county office in Aug. 6 primary elections; candidate affidavits filed in office of County Clerk Rusby C. Crites show Below spent $1,131.84 for primary, compared to expenditure of $291.33 by incumbent Lillian E. Stehr, Republican...

To think that there is not a troubled teen among the 1,033 students at Jackson High School this fall is unrealistic. To think that the majority of the students is maladjusted, isolated or selfish, however, would be just as ludicrous. According to a dozen JHS student leaders who met with the USA Signal recently, the vast majority of Jackson students have found a comfortable niche by their senior year. ...

One of Missouri's oldest and most popular marching band festivals was called an unequivocal success Tuesday. The 55th annual Jackson marching Band Festival saw more than 1,200 marching band members from some two dozen high schools march and perform field shows in perfect fall weather...

Continued construction delays in completion of Blanchard Elementary School could mean the building remains unoccupied until after Christmas break. Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska said he met Monday with the job superintendent and subcontractors working on the project for R.L. Persons Construction of Poplar Bluff. The group indicated a tentative completion date of Nov. 1...

Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus project will generate tax dollars for the state, school officials say. A study by the school suggests the River Campus project would generate $7.8 million in tax revenue for the state over the next nine years...

Hundreds of alumni and friends gathered Saturday for the 1999 Copper Dome Society Breakfast held at the Student Recreation Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Guy and Claudine Pinckley of Allardt, Tenn. and formerly of Malden received the 1999 "Friends of the University" award presented by the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. ...

Mother Nature did her best to cooperate with the 1999 Southeast Missouri State University's Homecoming parade theme, Rolling on the River. A light, but steady, rain fell as parade participants made their way from Capaha Park to Main Street. The only rainbow to be seen was the colorful array of umbrellas held by parade watchers and participants as everyone tried to keep dry...

It's amazing how motivating a big, yellow school bus can be. Our 7-year-old used to be slow to dress and slower still to get into the car. We regularly left the house with only minutes to spare before the start of school. It was a constant race when she was in kindergarten and first grade. We would make the mad dash to school, pulling up to the front doors in hopes of beating the school bell...

Chris Blair went from being a starving college student to a starving musician. The 24-year-old country music singer and his band, the Midwestern Express, played for the crowd of tailgaters before Saturday's homecoming game at Southeast Missouri State University...

Just like merchants want residents to buy local products, bands and musicians want music lovers to listen to local acts. Organizers for the third annual City of Roses Music Festival are helping them along, even if the weather didn't clearly cooperate...

Fire destroyed a truck Friday afternoon along Interstate 55 at mile marker 94. The driver of the truck whose name was not given, was not injured. Firefighters from Cape Girardeau fire station No. 2 responded to the call at 4:10 p.m. but the truck was fully engulfed when they arrived...

ST. LOUIS -- The Rev. Billy Graham has been called "the people's pastor," and as such he brings a gospel message to St. Louis this week. Graham will lead a four-day crusade beginning Thursday in St. Louis. Many area church groups are planning to attend at least one night of the crusade. Admission is free. No tickets are needed but seating is limited to a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open 90 minutes before the 7 p.m. service...

Established country superstar Vince Gill teamed with up-and-comer Jo Dee Messina to greatly satisfy the 5,148 people who attended their concert at the Show Me Center Friday night. Messina, recently honored with the Country Music Association Horizon Award, which notes her as the hottest new talent on the block, gave a feisty opening act performance that contrasted nicely with Gill's less energized but perhaps more focused show...

You sure can't question the heart of Southeast Missouri State University's football team. The Indians will fight and claw until the end, even though the odds of getting a victory are generally stacked against them. But the bottom line is, the Indians are simply not a very good -- nor talented -- Division I-AA team. ...

Tennessee Tech's defense was everything it was cracked up to be. And Southeast Missouri State University's defense wasn't far behind. But the bottom line is that Southeast suffered its 11th straight loss Saturday afternoon as Tech posted a 21-7 victory on the Indians' homecoming...

The Chaffee-East Prairie game Friday night was anything but an offensive display. The mud, the lack of traction and a wet pigskin had a lot to do with that. "It was not a pretty game," Chaffee coach Allan Horrell said of his team's 20-0 victory. While Chaffee's offense managed just 219 yards of total offense, the Red Devil defense held East Prairie to just 72 yards of offense. ...

JACKSON -- Westwood Hills Country Club of Poplar Bluff successfully defended its Southeast Missourian Cup crown Saturday with a nine-stroke victory at Kimbeland Country Club. Westwood Hills' eight-man team, paced by the play of Ben Godwin and Scott Spencer, totaled 549 strokes over the 36-hole competition. ...

Charleston High's girls tennis team had to go indoors to continue its district dominance. The Lady Blue Jays captured their eighth consecutive district title Saturday when they won the Class 1A-3A, District 1 Tournament in Cape Girardeau. The tourney was supposed to be played outdoors in one day at the Southeast Missouri State University courts. But rain forced the event to be held indoors Friday and Saturday at University Health & Fitness Center...

It's turkey time in Missouri. No, not Turkey Day (that comes in November), but it is time to talk turkey because Missouri's fall firearms turkey hunting season opens tomorrow morning. The two-week season opens Monday and runs through Sunday, Oct. 14. ...

The eighth annual Notre Dame High School Alumni Basketball Tournament will be held Oct. 22-24. All Notre Dame alumni are invited to participate. The entry fee of $35 includes 2 T-shirts and a social gathering. For more information, call Notre Dame athletic director Chris Janet at 335-1448...

Tennis clinics will be held this fall and winter at Universal Health and Fitness. Intermediate and advanced clinics will be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (3, 4, 5 p.m.) and beginner clinics on Tuesdays (ages 6-10 3:30-4:30 p.m., ages 10-14 4:30-6 p.m.)...

A local traveling under-11 boys soccer team is looking for players. Players must be born after Aug. 1, 1988. For more information, contact Luke Cano (314-773-1258), Mary Jo Shaw (334-2218) or Mia Myers (334-2473).

ADVANCE -- The Advance Athletic Booster Club will be sponsoring an open co-ed volleyball tournament Oct. 23. Team entries are $60 and must be made by Oct. 13. The tournament will consist of pool play and a playoff bracket. For more information, call Carl Ritter at (573) 722-3708...

ST. LOUIS -- Southern Illinois simply proved too tough for Southeast Missouri State University's women's cross country squad Saturday. Competing in the 24-team All-Missouri Border State Championship hosted by Washington University, SIU rolled to victory with 33 points. Southeast was second with 75 points, well ahead of Truman State's 129...

BERTRAND -- W.C. Mock, 91, of Bertrand died Friday, Oct. 8, 1999, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center at Sikeston. He was born Nov. 28, 1907, at Warm Springs, Ark., son of Thomas and Grace Carrens Mock. He and Lear Parrish were married May 5, 1942...

ANNA, Ill. -- Stan Aldridge, 51, of Wolf Lake, died on arrival Saturday morning at Union County Hospital in Anna. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Monday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. Service will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Walker Hill Cemetery at Grand Tower...

PERRYVILLE -- Lenn C. Miget, 88, died Saturday, Oct. 9, 1999, at his home. He was born April 23, 1911, in Perry County, son of Louis A. and Mary Huber Miget. He and Anna Marie Henderson were married Sept. 16, 1935, at Perryville. She died July 25, 1996...

WILSON CITY -- Thomas C. "Fats" Powell, 62, died Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Aug. 29, 1937, at West Point, Miss., son of J.L. Powell and Virgie Mae Walker Powell. He was a member of the Holy Grove Baptist Church in rural Wyatt...

CHAFFEE -- Dorothy Louise Curry, 83, of Chaffee, died Friday, Oct. 8, 1999, at St. Joseph Hospital in Lake St. Louis. She was born Oct. 21, 1915, at Commerce, daughter of Mack Watson Sanders and Amelia Sophia Sander. She and Audie Ray Curry were married Dec. 16, 1933, at Scott City. He died May 7, 1984...

POCAHONTAS -- Dallas F. Bruhl, 77, of Pocahontas, died Saturday, Oct. 9, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

BLOOMFIELD -- Vernie Perry, 89, of Bloomfield died Saturday, Oct. 9, 1999, at the Beverly Healthcare Center at Bloomfield. She was born Dec. 13, 1909, near Bloomfield, daughter of Monroe Thomas and Dovie Ann Miller Aslin. She and Ernest Elvis "Ebb" Perry were married Oct. 24, 1926. He died Jan. 5, 1962...

EUREKA, Ill. -- Marie Hunsaker Hannum, 94, of Eureka and formerly of Cobden died Friday, Oct. 8, 1999, at the Apostolic Christian Home at Eureka. She was born Sept. 30, 1905, at Green City, Mo., daughter of Charles and Lula Jane Sears Hunsaker. She and Percy J. Hannum were married Jan. 27, 1927. He died Sept. 19, 1983...

POCAHONTAS -- Edna "Arlene" Leimbach, 68, of Pocahontas died Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999, at the Lutheran Home at Cape Girardeau. She was born March 3, 1931, at Pocahontas, daughter of Arthur Gilbert and Ida Leimer Trickey. She and Norman Leimbach were married April 11, 1953...

SIKESTON -- Mildred Baehr, 86, of Sikeston and formerly of Lilbourn died Saturday, Oct. 9, 1999, at the Clearview Nursing Center at Sikeston. She was born Nov. 11, 1912, at Wayne County, daughter of Edwin and Emma Graham Heath. She was married to Homer Baehr. He died Oct. 24, 1986...

PERRYVILLE -- Mary P. Gibbar, 86, of Perryville died Friday, Oct. 8, 1999, at the Perry County Hospital. She was born March 9, 1913, at Perry County, daughter of Marcellus E. and Mary Louise Seifer Jannin. She and Clarence James Gibbar were married Sept. 10, 1935. He died Jan. 7, 1984...

Thomas Walter Haynie, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 8, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born on Feb. 11, 1928, at McGee, the son of Roy Charles and Myrtle Pearl McGee Haynie. He married Laura Marie Burrell on Nov. 25, 1948, at Osceola, Ark...

Missouri's fall colors may be a little dull this year. "I'd say it is going to be a little drab this year, mainly because of the effects of the drought," said Rocky Hayes, urban forester with the Missouri Conservation Department. Hayes works in the department's regional office in Cape Girardeau...

Jack Frost can't take all the credit for the tapestry of color in fall leaves. The Missouri Conservation Departments says it's a complex process that leads to nature's pageantry. Tree leaves contain cells that create food for the whole tree. Those cells use chlorophyll, which gives leaves their green color...

Many years ago I purchased a set of the World Books. Along with it came a gift book titled, "Through the Year with the World Book." It listed things to do each month as if one size fit all. I did most of the things except some like "Make a sail for your boat," and "Make a telescope." The exercises were good for they caused me to make my own list of things to do each month...